From the Santa Trinita Bridge

The Venice quarter, seen from the Holy Trinity bridge. (Already posted on Instagram)
Il quartiere Venezia, visto dal ponte di Santa Trinita. (Già pubblicato su Instagram)

Fortezza Vecchia from Above

The whole extension of the Fortezza Vecchia (Old Fortress) from a vantage point. On the left the Capitana bastion, in the middle the Mastio di Matilde, on the right Canaviglia bastion with the Palazzo di Francesco. In background, on the left, the tent-like structure of the Fish Market, on the right the reddish Palazzo del Portuale. Slightly above it we can see the bell tower of the Cathedral. If you are curious about the vantage point, we were exactly here.

Mercato del Pesce - Palazzo del Portuale - Duomo di Livorno - Old Silos

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See also: Fortezza Vecchia - Piazza dei Grani - Scalo Regio - Porta del Duca - Cortile d'Arme - Capitana - Ampolletta - Molo del Soccorso - Canaviglia - Palazzo di Francesco - Mastio di Matilde - From the Top
Search labels: Fortezza Vecchia

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Over the Porto Mediceo

In foreground we can see the “Diga curvilinea” (Curved seawall), built to protect the port from the sea. The “Porto Mediceo” itself is the relatively small basin in the middle, with on its left a barely visible “Fortezza Vecchia” and on the right the blue sheds of the Benetti Shipyard, the large dry dock, the floating dock, the lighthouse and the “Darsena Morosini” (Morosini docks). Beyond that begins the “lungomare”, we have already seen a part of it in Flying over Livorno, while inland lies most of Livorno proper.

See also: Flying over Livorno - Cargo Port - Fortress from the Sky

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Flying over Livorno

Our flight from Paris was so kind to pass three times over Livorno before landing in Pisa, so I was able to take some pictures of our town seen from above.
In foreground we can see, from left to right, the round building of the acquarium and the grey snake of the “Terrazza Mascagni”. At the other end of the terrazza stands the Gazebo and just above it the Grand Hotel Palazzo, with the “Pancaldi Acquaviva” sea resort. The large compound which hosts the Naval Academy lies by the sea, while the “Armando Picchi” football stadium and the “Federico Caprilli” racetrack line up in the top part of the picture.

See also: Over the Porto Mediceo - Cargo Port - Fortress from the Sky

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A View with Snow

[Photos by Stefano B]

My friend Stefano took these picture in “Villa Letizia” the day last Wednesday. The first one is an almost black and white composition from the park of the villa.A view toward south from the roof of the villa: we can see the coastline as far as Antignano.The snow covers the marina of Ardenza and the sea resorts.The “Federico Caprilli” racetrack white with snow and in background the Naval Academy.

See also: Villa Letizia - From the Roof - Federico Caprilli

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From the Roof

Looking south from the roof terrace of “Villa Letizia”: we see the busy “Viale Italia”, then the pines of the “Rotonda” and the quite rocky coastline of Antignano. The farthest visible point is more than two kilometers away.Against the eastern hills stands the water tower of the “Caserma Paolo Vannucci”, were part of the Folgore Parachute Brigate is quartered. That would be another good point of view...The Ardenza Stadium, now “Armando Picchi”, lies just north of the villa. The “Grattacielo” is our modest and only high-rise.On the northwest the track of the “Ippodromo Federico Caprilli” and its grandstand with, in background, the buildings of the Naval Academy. If you look closely, you may even recognize some familiar turrets. On the far right, in the haze, the “Fanale”.A panoramic view showing the extension of the park of the villa.

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Villa Letizia

This is a view from the roof terrace of “Villa Letizia” toward the hills southeast of Livorno. The first tower is the old reservoir of the villa, the bell tower in the middle of the picture belongs to the church of Saint Simon, in “Ardenza Terra”. Near the top of the hills we can see Montenero and its Sanctuary. The strange address of the villa is “Via dei Pensieri”, or Street of Thoughts.The villa was built in the first years of 18th Century amidst a huge park. It was completed in 1873 by a new owner, David Bondi, who restored the villa and built the reservoir tower.In the last years of the 19th Century the “Ippodromo” (racetrack) was built in northern part of the park.
Now the main building is an educational facility with an off-campus degree course of the University of Pisa. Computer related training courses are hold here quite often.On the southern end of the park, where the main entrance once was, the original “belvedere”, is wrapped in scaffolding. From up there they could see the sea just across the avenue that is now “Viale Italia”.

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Montenero

Welcome to Montenero (lit. Black Mount), a village on the hills overlooking Livorno and one of its most fascinating suburbs. Montenero is a well known religious centre because of the Sanctuary of “Santa Maria delle Grazie”, patron Saint of Tuscany. The tiny square has a panoramic terrace with a wonderful view of the town and of the coastline: on a clear day you can see the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago.
From Montenero Basso (Lower Montenero) there is a funicular service reaching the upper village at an elevation of around 280 meters. You can use a car, but for an easy drive you have to take a quite long detour around the hill. So it's probably hard to believe that these roads were part of a racing circuit, the Montenero Circuit, very popular in the 30's. It hosted many international races and the annual “Coppa Ciano”, which the legendary Tazio Nuvolari won five times. In 1937 the Italian Grand Prix itself took place on the circuit and was won by Rudolf Caracciola on a Mercedes-Benz.

See also: Sanctuary of Montenero - Villa Azzurra - Funicolare - Sagrato - Famedio - Piazza del Santuario
External links: Sanctuary of Montenero - Montenero Circuit - Coppa Ciano - Tazio Nuvolari - Italian Grand Prix - Rudolf Caracciola (Wikipedia)

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